Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 30... The News

23 March 2020

Hello friends and family!

I have felt all your love so strongly this week. Thank you so much for your prayers and emails!!

For those of you who have not yet heard, I have been flagged as "high risk" to be in the mission field and have been informed that I will be going home due to my asthma.

To explain in short the way that I feel right now, it would be completely devastated. I used to think that the hardest thing the Lord would ever ask me to do was to serve a mission. Now I know that the hardest thing that I might ever be asked to do is to come home.

My mission has not been easy. It hasn't always been fun, but it has been the most rewarding thing that I have ever done in my life. There is nothing that I would rather do than be in the service of my God, and the times when I realize all of this is real I simply can't breathe.

I have been thinking a lot about Alma 29:1-3 lately,

1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

I would give anything to finish my mission. My one and only desire is to "declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth... But behold, I am [just a Sofie], and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."

The past 8 months have changed my life in the most profound, dramatic way possible. I will be forever grateful for every day, every hour, and every minute of my mission. It has been a refining experience that I could have never created on my own.

I am nowhere near the disciple that I hope to be, but I can confidently say that these past 8 months have given me the tools to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to continue progressing toward that person.

I know that God is a real being - our loving Heavenly Father. He cares about you. He cares about the things you do and the way you feel every minute of every day. I know that there is nothing that can't be healed by trusting in Him.

I know that Jesus Christ is who He says He is. 3 Nephi 11:10-11,

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

He is a light that cannot be darkened. Where his light shines, darkness cannot prevail. Fam. Please embrace His light. The healing that He brings is infinite and eternal. He is bigger than all of this. He is bigger than Corona, He is bigger than loneliness, He is bigger than despair. All he asks of you is to come to Him and leave it all at his feet. I know it isn't easy, but it's the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

Mosiah 14:5

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

I love you all so much, and I know these times are so difficult, but I know that if we put our trust in God, all will be made well. He heals broken hearts and feeds hungry souls. Every tear that has been shed will be compensated for. I know it.

Finally, I want to leave you all with this statement: Just because my full-time mission is over does not mean that I am not still a missionary or that I am not on a mission. We are all on a mission to invite others to come unto Christ!!! That mission never ends, and we better all be wearing his name on our hearts. So that is my invitation to you. Be the missionary He needs you to be. Be converted. Be helpful. Be valiant in your testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that as we make an effort to be His hands, we will be better able to see His hands in all that we do.

I love you all so much,

God loves you so much more,

Hermana Jimenez

Saying Good-bye to Hermana Fuller

Saying Hello to Charlee

Here's the 24-hour follow-up to Sofia's email...

We received an email from the Mission Monday afternoon telling us that the Missionary Department is swamped with all of the comings and goings of missionaries and that if we wanted to arrange for a flight on our own or go pick Sofia up from the mission, we could. Because they had no idea when she would be getting home (she's not as high on the priority list as overseas missions that have to be evacuated).

So we thought about flying her home, but then Nikki suggested that she could just drive up and get her. So, Nikki drove up Tuesday morning, met Sofia at the Mission Office, and drove her back to Corvallis. So, tonight Sofia will have a video conference with President Patterick to be released from her mission. Then she will self-quarantine for two weeks at Nikki's. Then... she'll come home to us. I think she's just trying to beat Nikki and Alex in their travel times home from the mission :)

We are proud of Sofia's service and know that she has served the Lord faithfully and completely. We cannot wait to see her in a couple of weeks!

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 29

16 March 2020


LISTEN FAM,

Wellllllllll... Corona is alive and well out here. Hahaha. We are preparing for the worst in the mission. We all have 2 weeks worth of food just in case we end up being isolated and we're studying up on how we can better prepared to proselyte using online tools.

Whether or not we end up being isolated, the work is going to keep moving on. We're doing what we can where we can and trusting in the Lord.

We went Saturday night to the store for one last good stock up on food and it was basically all gone. Crazy times we are living in right now. Hahahaha. My companion had to take a pic.

Anyway, don't worry about us out here. We're doing good!! We're surviving and I have faith that we will be able to continue preaching the gospel even with all of these crazy restrictions.

Today we went on a hike called "Old Robe Canyon" which sounds super lame but was actually totally awesome. Hahaha. It was literally the whole crew. Lily, the Elders in the branch, and our English class ladies all came, so it was a lot of fun.(;

Anyway, this week has been extremely slow, but we were able to pick up a friend! So we had been teaching this lady named Sonia who owned a little tienda here in our area and we would mainly teach her at her store, but every once in a while, we would stop by her house. One of those times, her sister, Carmen, happened to be there and seemed super interested. We were so excited.

We tried to call her a million times to set up appointments and she would always pick up and tell us she was busy, but that she would text us when she had time, and then... never would. Haha. You know. The usual. We felt prompted on Friday to call her and it was the usual rundown all over again. She said, "I'm busy right now, but when I get home in a couple of hours I will send you my address so you can come." Same as always, so we were hopeful, but not sure. Welllllll she called us!! And we were able to go over and have a super spiritual lesson with her and her two kids. We can't wait to go back. It's funny how the spirit works.

Anyway, I'm super short on time, so I'll talk to you all next week. Remember! The Lord is with us. Have faith and find a way to partake of the sacrament and be spiritually nourished each week. I am serious. Do not forget what matters most when we all need it most. Just because we can't meet doesn't mean we aren't still the church of christ, so let's be disciples and serve where we can, and ask for help from the person who knows our needs perfectly.

I love you,
Heavenly Father loves you a whole lot more,

Sofie

And... from the cheating mom... I'm just glad that Sofia is still in her first area, living in the basement of members so I can send packages directly to her house. I said I wouldn't do it again, but... given the circumstances, I just had to send some GREEN FUN!!!

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 28

9 March 2020

Hey fam, what's good?

This week was pretty crazy town.

It started really slow, but on Wednesday we had Zone Conference and ever after that, the week has flown.

So Corona wasn't a huge deal last Monday, but by Wednesday when we showed up to Zone Conference it was. Hahaha. Last time I heard, there have been 12 deaths and who knows how many cases in our mission. Crazy town. There are a couple people in our area who have gotten sick, too. By a couple, I mean a lot. Hahaha. We were talking to a sister in our ward and she said that when the CDC did tests on the first corona cases here in Washington, they found that the corona here is a bunch of steps older than the corona that was in Asia, basically suggesting that before they even found the "first case" covid-19 had been in WA for around 6 weeks. Also Everyone and their dog in our area has "a cold" right now that I'm almost positive is Corona. Hahaha. No one wants to go get checked because they are all so positive that it isn't Corona Virus, but I'm like 10/10 positive half of WA has already gotten it. So that's the tea.

Also there is basically a shortage on everything out here. Hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and water. People straight up think it's doomsday. The hand sanitizer makes sense, but TP and water? Anyway. Hahaha.

Enough of the Corona talk. I'm sure all you people who watch the news are sick of it.(:

Other than that things have been pretty great. Zone Conference was really good. We talked all about how we can use our strengths to share the gospel in normal and natural ways. I loved it, because when I first got to the mission I thought I had to fit this mold of what a missionary is and that's just not the case. I was sent to Everett, WA because WA needs Sofia Jimenez.

I've definitely changed, but what I've realized is that it isn't about fitting the missionary mold, it's about becoming a disciple. If we're out here just trying to conform we're going to go back home and turn right back into the person we were when we left, which is fine I guess. lol actually jk it TOTALLY isn't. I'm not out here consecrating a whole year and a half, 24/7 of my life to go back to Herriman, Utah the same old Sofie I was when I left. That would be a joke. I'm out here to change my nature, I'm tryina' go from Charmander to Charizard, ya know what I mean? (I didn't... so I had to look it up - its a Pokemon reference - I should have figured with Sofia...) And the only way that happens is through the daily use of the atonement of Jesus Christ. That's what the mission is about. I'm not out here to be a missionary I'm out here to become a disciple through sharing the gospel.

Anyway. Food for thought. Zone Conference was the best. It was also straight-up Christmas because I got packages and mail and MY MOM SENT ME COOKIES AND SLIME. The best. Now if I get isolated I will be more than entertained. Hahaha. Thanks, momma.

The work is going steady. We have a couple really solid friends that have a lot of potential. We just need to actually meet with them. Appointments just keep canceling on us, so it's been rough, but ya know. That's the mission life.

Now I'm tryina' talk about Hermana Mora today. The one and the only. The woman is a legend. Hahaha. We had a dinner appointment yesterday and she made us pasta, torta de pierna, and watermelon. It was amazing. I think my new favorite food is Hna Mora's Torta de Pierna. Imagine a cubano, but spicy and 2x more delicious. Haha.

At an appointment this week with a member they told us this wild story of how they know the church is true. So when they were little, their little sister got hit by a car. It was really bad and took off the whole left side of her face. The medics thought she was dead and put her in the morgue, but when her dad went looking for her among the dead she straight up, sat up, and asked for Posole. Crazy town. Anyway. Her dad takes her to the hospital and she ends up getting a sickness from one of the transfusions she received that would affect her for the rest of her life, but, she survived. And ever after that, this member's sister had experiences with spirits visiting her. Still, when they were young, her sister would recount to her that she received visits from these students from a strange place called "Utah" who's bus got hit by a train and they died. When they came to visit, their countenances glowed and they had magnificent gowns on. The member one day asked her to draw what one of the gowns looked like and was completely astonished at the sight. Well, time passed and the member's sister died from the sickness she contracted from the transfusion. The member parted ways with her old home and eventually received the restored gospel in WA. She learned about baptisms for the dead and desired to be baptized for her sister. 

The member prepared the whole week for the temple by praying to be able to receive a witness that what happened in the temple was true and good and that her sister was there.

Another sister picked her up to take her to the temple, and they set off. When she got to the temple, they gave her clothes to change into. She left, changed, and as she was walking to the baptistry, she accidentally ran into the sister who brought her to the temple. When she looked up to say sorry, the sister was wearing the exact dress that her little sister had drawn for her years and years ago. The member was shook. Then in the baptistry, she had a vision of her sister with a complete, healthy, body telling her that she was still there and that she was in the right place. Crazy town.

Anyway, she found out that Utah is the headquarters of the church, too, and was shook about that and then recently, she found a news article from way back when of a bus of college students that got hit by a train in Utah. Full circle. Hahaha. Pretty crazy, though. 

Anyway, I think I'm done with this email. Hahaha.

Thank you for all of your prayers, I can really feel them.

I love you,

God loves you a whole lot more,

Hna Jimenez

PS: Kaylee Jenson you better email me about your mission call!!!

Pics from Zone Conference :)

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 27

2 March 2020

Hellllooooooooooo lovely people!

How's everyone doing?

I'm doing pretty good! I went to PT and that went pretty well. He gave me some exercises to do on a fitness ball, so I'm officially the coolest kid in town because I get to play with a ginormous bouncy ball every day. Hahaha.

Also, it's true. Coronavirus is officially here in the mission, so I guess we're all going to get sent home. Hahaha. A joke, but yeah, it's in the mission. I guess it's not a huge deal. They have us stocking up on food and stuff in case it gets crazy, but I'm pretty sure we're all going to be super fine. So there's that.

This week has just been crazy town. Getting everything ready for the baptism was a trip. We really wanted people to be there to support Jairo, so we personally invited almost everyone in the branch and posted on Facebook like 5 times. Jairo was so excited for his baptism and we were completely overjoyed when there wasn't room enough in the relief society room to hold all of the people who came to support him. There were literally people standing outside because after we put up more seats, there still wasn't enough room. It was amazing. His family came to support him and a super less active member from our ward came as well. Multiple of our friends also came, so not only was it an amazing experience for Jairo, but an awesome missionary opportunity for everyone involved. He got up at the end and bore his testimony about the truthfulness of the Gospel and the reality of the Holy Ghost. You could feel the spirit so strong.

So yeah. Everything just came together perfectly. No fonts were flooded, either, so that's a big win for me.(;

Other than the baptism, it was basically your average week. Now that Jairo is baptized we really want to work on our friends Anayeli y Yamilet, who come to English class and church all of the time. We are finally getting to the point where we can have real sit-down lessons with them instead of casual principle sharing in-between conversation, so we are really excited about that. We also are starting to teach a family which is the most exciting thing in the entire world. I have only ever taught single people or part-member families for the most part, so this is really new for me to have a whole family of non-members to teach. It will be an interesting dynamic for sure.

ALSO, I would highly recommend having a newly returned missionary in your branch, because it's the best. thing. ever. Hermana Lily Roberts returned home from the Gilbert, Arizona mission 3 weeks ago and it has been the biggest blessing in the entire world. She comes to lessons with us whenever we need her, supports our friends, helps us with our Spanish, she even bought me Saints vol 2 the other day so that I can read it while Hna Fuller is in the shower. Basically, Lily is the best thing since sliced bread and we're super blessed to have her.

Yeah! For all you people out there who are inviting the missionaries into your home, accompanying them to lessons, and feeding them, thank you! It means a lot, and it makes a way bigger difference than you might think. So thanks. You're the real ones out there. Hahaha.

Anyway, these moments are what it's all about. A man was baptized and confirmed a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ. He is on the straight and narrow path and as he is faithful, he will receive all of the promised blessings of making and keeping covenants with God, including eternal life. Jairo is a boss, and we are so happy for him.

Okay. A game:
We're back in the time of Noah and God has told you that the flood is coming. You've made your boat and it's time to choose who you're going to try to invite on board. Okay now stop. Make a list of everyone who you want to be saved from the flood. I'm talking everyone. If you don't write them on the list they're drowning. I'm serious. Make the list.

Okay. Now I want you all to circle every person on that list who hasn't entered into the covenant of baptism with the Lord yet. We all have someone. Now I want you to think about how much more important their spiritual salvation is than their physical salvation. If they were worth writing down on a list so they didn't die in an imaginary game, they are worth jumping out of our comfort zone to invite them to come and see. That's all anyone asks us to do. Nothing overbearing about it.

So that's my invitation to you, today. Start inviting those people on your list to come and see the joy that the restored gospel brings. Just do it.

I love you,
God loves you a whole lot more,


Hna Jimenez

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 26

24 February 2020


Hey fam,

What's good?

Right out the gate I'm just tryina' say that ya girl out here in Washington did not have A SINGLE. MIGRAINE. THIS WEEK!!!!! A huge deal. I am extremely grateful.

My back is still a little crazy town, but my amazing PT brother in law, Kevin sent me some exercises to do and I am already feeling stronger, and way less pain in my back. Let me tell you all, I am enjoying this moment while I have it. Ya girl is back in business, people!! Tomorrow I'm off to PT and they'll snap me around and hopefully help me out even more.(:

This week was quite the ride. It started out with an exchange with the one, the only Sister Snowder! My buddy, my pal. Hahaha. During my first transfer in the mission, we were both companions to the STL's in the Zone, so we went on 7 exchanges. So this was our 8th exchange. We're basically companions. Hahaha. Anyway, I always love my time in YSA, because not only is it English, it's people my age, so we can just speak our minds and really make the magic happen. Haha. It was awesome.

Hermana Fuller and I have just been grinding to get Jairo ready for his baptism and after a crazy week full of lessons, we did it! Jairo is ready to rumble and this weekend, he's getting dunked!!! It is so insane to see how the Lord brings about his work. When we tracted into Jairo, it was just a couple of days before his family moved to another home in Marysville. He was so ready to receive the restored gospel and he has helped our other friends learn and progress in the Gospel as well. The man is a legend!! I'm so grateful to have been able to get to know him and see his progression over time. Jairo is a miracle and we love him so so much! He and his sister invited us over to dinner to celebrate this Saturday and they made this dish called Pollo con Tajadas and let me tell you, it. was. amazing. Keeks this part is for you. I totally forgot to take a picture, but he sent us this picture:

It looked and tasted even better than the picture. I guess there is another dish they do in Honduras that's basically like chili, but no beans and double the meat and they just combined the dishes. So we had the fried bananas, chopped lettuce, chicken, chili stuff, all drizzled with the special sauce. Crazy town. Honduras is the promised land. Hahahaha.

It was also a great experience to get to know his family a little bit better. They all have a lot of potential and they'll be at the baptism on Saturday, so pray that we can make some magic happen and set up some lessons! His sister was saying that Jairo has changed a lot (for the better) since we started teaching him, so that was awesome to hear, too. The Gospel changes people, folks.

We also went to Granite Falls to do some yard work for this old Peruvian Lady and that was awesome, too. It was super fun to get dirty and just garden for a couple of hours. The Elders in Granite Falls came, too, and she just yelled at them the whole time about how to do the tasks they were doing. It was a good time. We're all going back this week. 

Okay, last but not least. Papi. I finished "Saints". Yes. Your daughter. Who would have thought? Sofia Jimenez, the girl who hates books, reading and finishing a 586-page non-fiction book. Crazy town. The mission really does change people. It was pretty awesome, though. If you want to learn all of the nitty-gritty details about church history and also get excited about the restoration for the next conference, read "Saints" fam.

Anyway, that's all I have for this week. Sorry there's nothing too crazy about it. Hahaha. I hope all is well and I am so thankful for all of the prayers that I am receiving.

Congratulations to my uncle who was able to officially adopt my cute little cousins, Dallas and Ace, this week! I love you guys so much!🎊🎉❤

Okay people. God is good. He hears and answers prayers. Christ is your Savior and he died for you!! There is nothing in this world that we have to take beyond the cross. Let Him in and He will change your heart and heal your soul.

John 14:18: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

That's a promise.

I love you,
God loves you more!

Hna Jimenez

ps: Augga made us stew and it was THE BEST.

pps: I found my dad in the children's Book of Mormon. Check it out...

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 25... STILL!!!

17 February 2020

Yes, momma. To answer your question I am, in fact, still in Sunnyside...

agfhskjfhkjhfjhfkjshfh

to all of you who are shocked because I told you I was being transferred, I am just as shocked as the rest of you. completely shook to still be here. Hahaha.

Tuesday I was super super sad to be leaving and really anxious about what was coming up next for me in my mission. I was finally feeling optimistic about it all when I got a call from Elder Martinez (the new assistant and also one of the Elder's that was in Sunnyside with me for my first 4 transfers) that went a little like this:

J: "Hey. This is Hermana Jimenez and Hermana Fuller... What's up? Why are you calling?"

M: "We have some news for Hermana Jimenez"

*long pause*

M: "Because of some last minute complications with transfers you will be staying in Sunnyside for another transfer. We've looked at all the options and it's the only way this shakes out."

*Loooooooong awkward silence*

M: "So thank you for serving where the Lord needs you."

J: *painfully* "mhmmm"

And then I hung up the phone and Hermana Fuller and I sat in silence for like 5 min.

Hahahahahaha. It maybe didn't go down that awkwardly, but it was quite a shock with a lot of mixed emotions. I love the people here in Sunnyside and i love my companion, but I've been here for a really long time and had finally accepted the change, so it was tough. After this transfer I will have served literally one half of my mission in my first area.

crazy. town.

But, I get to be here for Jairo's baptism and we have some really amazing things going on here in Sunnyside, so I'm excited to stay. On top of that, things have been really hard here for me medically the past couple weeks and I was feeling really sad to leave the area feeling generally deafeated and hopeless. So here I am, with a new chance to get back to the old me and reck this area one more time before I leave for good.

Hermana Fuller and I have named this tranfer "Rehab Transfer." We set up doctor's appointments and made a bunch of goals to maximize our abilities despite our situation right now. I'm pretty pumped, and so far it's gone really great.

Anyway, we took a bunch of random pictures of us throughout the week that automatically upload to my shared drive to totally confuse my momma and it worked. hahaha. Halfway through the week I got an email titled, "What the heck?!?" So that's fun, too.

Speaking of all the medical, I had a doctor's appointment for my lower back and they decided to take an x-ray and I have something called "Lower Lumbar Facet Degeneration" going on. I guess a couple of my vertebrae are thinning out and disintegrating... I'm not sure exactly, but it's just a mild case and the Tx is anti-inflammitories and PT, so pray that the few PT appointments I get are enough to get some relief from my dissapearing back. haha. I guess all of that has caused some inflammation in my pelvis as well, so that explains all the discomfort I have been in. I really didn't want to be on muscle relaxers, so I've just been on ibuprophen, icing my back like crazy, and only sitting in comfortable positions and I've made a lot of progress, so that's really good.

As far as migranes go I only had 2 this week!!!🎉🎊🎉🎊🎉

I'm basically cured. Hahah.


OKAY, an amazing experiece from this week:

We also went to visit a family on Wednesday. We heard they had moved to a trailer park temporarily to save money to build a new house. When we showed up we realized that we had no idea which trailer was theirs, but we knew what Hermano's car looked like and when we found it...
it was the smallest trailer in the lot.
We were like there is no way a family of 5 is living in that right now.
We were unsure if we should knock or not and we were going to text him to see if we could come over and leave, but we decided to just do it and see how it went. We pulled back in and knocked and the Hermano answered and with the kindest voice said, "Hermanas! Gusto de verles! Come in! Come in!" And sure enough. There was a family of 5 living in a trailer that couldn't have been bigger than an apartment kitchen. crazy town. But you know what? That was the happiest I have ever seen that family, if not any family here in Washington. The family had been going through some hard times earlier on the year, and they made a plan and there theey were - together and stronger than ever
1. living within their means
2. paying their tithing
3. praying fervently and having faith and patience in the Lord.
It was awesome to see how much can change when we graciously accept what we have and work hard for a better future. Honestly amazing.

Another one:

The other day we were out tracting in a neighborhood and we came across a Lady named Olga. When she opened the door she seemed super disinterested and with a blank look about her as she  asked us what we wanted. There were kids running around the house and a Dog who was on a mission to make Kansas hear him barking. We explained that we were missionaries and that our purpose was to help people come unto Christ. Still nothing. Then we asked if we could share a scripture and we whipped out 2 Nephi 32:9 (pray always) and a light lit up in her eyes. She goes,

"You wanna just come in right now and say a prayer?" and we were like,

"ahdfjkhafhadjsk, yeah!"

so we go inside and she's like, "just give me a second to round up the kids."

she starts yelling, "Vente! Vente paraca! Vente!"  And then she was like,

"one second let me get my kids and their friends."

And she walks up to this door of a tiny room, rips it open and just starts yelling at them to get into the living room to say a prayer with the missionaries. They start coming out and there were like eight teenagers in this tiny little room all laughing and stuff. They all came out and she just starts yelling at all of them to hold hands in a cirlce. One kid was straight up dancing on a bag of Taki's and she just screamed at him until he came and joined the circle.

mind you, in the meantime, the dog is still goiing crazy in the kitchen.

She finally gets everyone together and then asks, "Where's Joe?"

Her kid was like, "Joe's Catholic."

she goes, "It doest matter. We're praying to God." In the most "I'm so done with this" kinda voice ever. She took a big breath, yelled at the dog one last time to shut up and then looked at me to start praying.

So I did. And it was crazy town. The spirit came so strong despite all of the noise and chaos going on. It was the best. She invited us back next week on Wednesday and we left. hahaha. We were pretty shook. Olga is a legend.

Anyway, Jairo's still going strong out here. He is such a missionary. He comes with us to lessons and gives some of our other friends rides to church. A legend.

We had another lesson with Francisco y Manuel and we taught them the Word of Wisdom. We felt really impressed to teach it, even though we had only taught them the restoration and they didn't know a lot of the doctrine. It was a really amazing lesson. The spirit was so strong as we stood under the little cover of their roof on their patio in the 40 degree weather and Washington rain because we can never go in. We were all cold and wet, but happy to be there feeling the spirit. Francisco y Manuel are the best.

I think there is a real power in trying the word of God. If you want to know if God is there, if he loves you, if he's given us His gospel to be happy, just do it. Start following His teachings and watch what happens. Read your scriptures, pray unceacingly and watch God pour out His blessings upon you. I dare you to try God, becuase guess what's going to happen? He'll prove you and you will understand the doctrine. You will be more converted and that's a promise.

I got to listen to a General Authority yesterday named, Jörg Klebingat. The man is a legend. He talked about how God really is our father and we will all be astonishly overwhelmed with how familiar the features of His face are to us when we meet again becuase we know him because he loves us. It was really good stuff. He said the biggest mistake we make as saints is put these mortal characteristics on God. Like how he doesn't love us or is dissapointed in us even when we are trying hard and giving it a good go.

These aren't exact quotations, but he said something along the lines of this, "Shame on you, for believing that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can't make you completely whole. shame on you for believing that God loves you less for who you are and past mistakes.

"When you understand who God is and His characteristics as your Father and who Christ is as your literal perfect advocate, you will love yourself, you will smile more, you will be kinder, because you will understand that what the atonement of Jesus Christ has healed, has healed."

No nicks, marks, dents about it. We are not damaged goods. God takes our best, our imperfect repentance, and forgives us perfectly and if we but just believe in that. When we stop putting mortal limitations on God we can be and feel whole again.

It was really good stuff. Anyway, food for thought. He has a Conference talk called "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence." I strongly encourage all of you to read it.

I love you!

God loves you a whole lot more,

Hna Jimenez

Here are pictures from Sofia this week to drive me crazy not knowing why she was still with Hna Fuller!!!

Wednesday Evening

Thursday Afternoon

Thursday Evening

Friday Afternoon

Friday Evening

Arlington; Sunnyside Branch - Week 24

10 February 2020

Hello lovely people!!!

Hermana Jimenez out here, reporting on another week.

This week was super, super tough because Hermana Fuller and I were super sick, BUT my migraines are finally calming down for the most part. I've been able to release a lot of the tension using these things called yoga balls that my mom sent me. I am finally to the point where I can get my neck to crack and pop and that helps a lot. If all goes well, I should be headed to PT this week.

I am being transferred, so I have to say goodbye to Arlington and my amazing companion and move on to somewhere and someone new. I'm sad to leave, but it is time for a change.

I've learned a lot the past few weeks about resilience. I've come to the conclusion that a lot of life is just a mental game. When people used to ask me how I got through SJS I used to tell them, "I don't really have an option, so I have to just try to have a good attitude and get through it." The hard thing about the mission is the fact that I do have an option. I'm choosing to be out here. I'm choosing to deal with all of my migraines and back pain. I'm choosing to keep going. It's really hard to know you have a choice.

I think the solution is to decide you don't. I committed to serve a fulltime mission so as long as I can keep rowing I'm going to because it isn't a choice to go back on something good that you committed to doing. It just isn't.

So yes. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to decide that it isn't a choice to give up when it gets hard. I'm going to let go of all the things that I can't control and do the best I can.

That's all anyone can ask of me.

That's the realization I made this week.

We've been teaching these two awesome guys named Francisco y Manuel. They've helped me realize that it doesn't matter where we're coming from. All that matters is where our heart is and Francisco y Manuel have hearts. of. GOLD. Hahahaha.

My invitation to you is to welcome EVERY person to be a part of your worship. No matter their color, age, culture, or experience in the church, We're all children of a loving Heavenly Father and he invites ALL to come sit at the table.

I love you.
God loves you more.


Hermana Jimenez